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Spike Spectrum Analyzer Software User Manual

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1. cccccccssessststesesestssssesessssssssessessussessesssssseseetsussessesstsuesessatseeeseesaes 39 8 38 The Devices NOL Valid iscnc n adas aereos 39 9 Calibration and Adjustment nono rre nrnnn re nrnnnnenr nn nro narra ne nrnnn rare nrnranrnnaro 40 10 Warranty and Disclaimer 40 1051 VEELAL EE 40 OZ WAAN EN C eea aai ANA Eee Een ENE 40 10 3 Limitation of OC E 40 10 4 Exclusive Remedies 10 5 Certification 10 6 Credit Notice A What s New 1 Overview This document outlines the operation and functionality of the Signal Hound Spike spectrum analyzer software Spike is compatible with Signal Hound s line of spectrum analyzers which include e SA series SA44 SA44B SA124A SA124B e TG products TG44 TG124 e BB series BB60A BB60C This document will guide you through the setup and operation of the software You can use this document to learn what types of measurements the software is capable of how to perform these measurements and configure the software 1 1 WHAT S NEW With Version 3 0 the software has been rebranded Spike The SA and TG series products have been integrated into the software The software now supports all Signal Hound test and measurement products 2 Preparation 2 1 INITIAL INSPECTION Check your package for shipping damage before opening Your box should contain a USB cable a Signal Hound spectrum analyzer and an installation CD 2 2 SOFTWARE INSTALLATION The s
2. measurements up to the reference level Using the arrows you can change the reference level by the amount specified by the Div setting Div sets the scale for the y axis It may be set to any positive value The chosen value represents the vertical height of one square on the graticule In linear mode the Div control is ignored and the height of one square on the graticule is 1 10 of the reference level Atten sets the internal electronic attenuator By default the attenuation is set to automatic It is recommended to set the attenuation to automatic so that the device can best optimize for dynamic range and compression when making measurements Gain Gain is used to control the input RF level Higher gains increase RF levels When gain is set to automatic the best gain is chosen based on reference level optimizing for dynamic range Selecting a gain other than Auto may cause the signal to clip well below the reference level and should be done by experience Signal Hound users only Preamp The the device connected has an internal preamplifier this setting can be used to control its state 3 2 2 3 Bandwidth Controls Native RBW When Native RBW is enabled the device uses the Nutall window function When disabled a custom flat top window function is used The custom flat top window allows all possible RBW values to be set while Native RBWs only allow a certain subset of RBWs The flat top window will increase absolute amplitude accu
3. 1 Configuring Scalar Network Analyzer Seene 24 RD ROO NU WED a de eeen lo o da tet 24 4A S Measuring Deiere a A A decanen 25 4 4 4 Manual Tracking Generator Gees 25 5 Taking Measurements A 26 5 1 Measuring Frequency and Amplitude ccoo cnn cnn serene eeneneesnenseneeeneeseneeeneeen 26 OSIO AAA ben Aa abad II A O Divestaste teh eha 26 5 1 2 Using the Delta Adacker caia 26 5 1 2 Measuring LOW Level SIGNS coonininininicnnincicnnn cares 26 5 2 SAVING Gessalonsg 27 CN Gelee 27 5 4 Capturing Signals of Interest onic cccccccscsesesssesesesessssssessetssssesesssssssssssasusiessisassisssissnsussessetsussessecstssesessatstseseetaeess 28 5 5 Measuring Channel Power 28 5 6 Modulation EE 29 5 7 Using the Measuring Receiver Ulm 31 5 7 1 Measurement Procede sssri risadas edain EEN 31 5 8 Tips for Better Measurements nice EEEIEE EErEE Eent 32 6 Additional Features 33 6 1 Printing cias 33 62 lee WIAD CS rasta eeb entend 33 6 3 Importing Path Loss and Limit Line Tables nnnnnnnonennenenenernenenenerseensneneeneneneneeneneneneneeeneneneeneneneneneenenen 34 6 4 Audio EE 35 DIS Pla MOS a es ect ean eas set 36 VAES peog gl aa EEEN 36 EE 37 8 TroUblesho0tIO EE 38 8 1 Umableto Find Or Open the DEVICE esti bd 38 8 1 1 The Device Light is solid green and Still wonteongect 38 8 1 2 The device is connected but does not exhibit a Solid green jobt 38 8 1 3 The device disconnects during Operation 39 8 2 The Signal Hound is Not Sweeping Properly wo
4. Hz for FM and depth for AM e RMS records the root mean square of modulation RMS is displayed as Hz for FM and depth for AM e Modulation Rate records the frequency of the AM FM modulation e SINAD Slgnal to Noise And Distortion ration records the signal quality defined by the THD function Psignal Pnoise Pdistortion SINAD Pnoise Pdistortion Total Harmonic Distortion records the presence of harmonic distortion in the audio signal as defined by the function or in VVZ t Ve VE v THD words the RMS of the first four hamonics to the RMS of the fundamental frequency 30 a Measurements Using the Measuring Receiver Utility Both SINAD and THD measurements occur for AM or FM depending on which demodulation type is selected for Zero Span A configurable low pass filter is available on the control panel The low pass filter is applied to the audio signal before modulation analysis is performed 9 USING THE MEASURING RECEIVER UTILITY The Spike software provides the functionality of a measuring receiver to make tuned RF level measurements TRFL TRFL measurements are useful for characterizing attenuators signal generators or any device on which you want to measure the accuracy of incremental steps in the output power TRFL measurements are capable of making more accurate power level readings and carrier frequency readings than in standard swept analysis mode and is capable of measuri
5. bottom of the application When the mouse enters the graticule the status bar displays the frequency time value for the x axis and the amplitude frequency value for the y axis The status bar readings should not be used for precise measurements but is great for quick estimations The status bar also displays information about the current device connected if there is one You can see the type of device temperature of the device power supplied to the device the device serial number and firmware version 18 O Started Annunciator List 3 8 ANNUNCIATOR LIST On the upper left hand corner of the graticule you will find a list of annunciators Annunciators are provided as warnings and indicators providing useful information to the operator Below is a list of all annunciators and their meanings e Temperature The device temperature is always displayed in C This is the device s internal temperature e IF Overload This indicator appears when hard compression is present on the displayed sweep This annunciator will appear in the top center of the graticule and will trigger the UNCAL indicator This occurs when the input RF signal reaches the maximum possible digital level To fix this you can increase the reference level increase attenuation or lower gain e TEMP This indicator appears when the device has deviated more than 2 C since its last temperature calibration The software will automatically calibrate if the device is not
6. currently displayed trace to one of two available copies Show Trace Toggle the display of the two trace copies Disable Disable the limit lines or path loss tables Persistence Enable Disable Clear the persistence trace Spectrogram Enable Disable spectrogram display 3 5 7 Utilities Audio Player Brings up the dialog box allowing you to use and customize the software for audio playback See Additional Features Audio Player for more information Measuring Receiver Enables the measuring receiver utility See Taking Measurements Using the Measuring Receiver Utility for more information Tracking Generator Controls If a SA series spectrum analyzer is the current active device in the software and a Signal Hound tracking generator is connected to the PC selecting this utility introduces an additional control panel for controlling the tracking generator output manually The tracking generator will only respond if the scalar network analysis mode is not active SA124 IF Output Brings up a dialog box to control the IF downconverter for the SA124 spectrum analyzers While the SA124 IF downconverter is active the device cannot perform other tasks 17 O Started Preferences e Self Test Brings up a dialog box to manually self test SA44B and SA124B devices The dialog will explain the process of setting up the device for self test and will display the results immediately after the test is performed 3 5 8 Help e About D
7. e Export Save the contents of the selected trace to a CSV file A file name must be chosen before the file is saved The CSV file stores Frequency Min Amplitude Max Amplitude triplets Frequency is in MHz Min Max are in dBm mV depending on whether logarithmic or linear units are selected 3 2 1 2 Marker Controls The software allows for six configurable markers All six markers are configurable through the measurements control panel e Marker Select a marker All marker actions taken will affect the current selected marker e Place On Select which trace the selected marker will be placed on If the trace selected here is not active when a marker is placed the next active trace will be used 10 O Started The Control Panels Update When Update is ON the markers amplitude updates each sweep When OFF the markers amplitude does not update unless moved Active Active determines whether the selected marker is visible This is the main control for disabling a marker Peak Search This will place the selected marker on the highest amplitude signal on the trace specified by Place On If the selected trace is Off then the first enabled trace is used Delta places a reference marker where the marker currently resides Once placed you can make measurements relative to the position of the reference point To Center Freq changes the center frequency to the frequency location of the selected marker To Ref Level changes the ref
8. in real time mode Manually recalibrate the device by pressing the Self Cal IF control panel button e LOWV This indicator appears when the device is not receiving enough voltage from the USB 3 0 connection The voltage value appears when this annunciator is present The device requires A AN If this annunciator appears it may indicate other problems Contact Signal Hound if you are unable to determine the source of this problem e UNCAL This indicator appears whenever any warning indicator is active to notify the user that the device may not be meeting published specifications 3 9 PLAYBACK TOOLBAR The playback toolbar controls the recording and playback of sessions Sessions are a collection of saved sweeps at one device setting See Taking Measurements Saving Sessions nacie Q B Pp B ll MN e Record Begins recording a session e Stop Recording Stops recording an active session e Play Continue Begin playing a saved session or continue a paused session e Stop Stop playing the current session e Pause Pause the current session e Rewind Rewinds then pauses the session e Step Back Shows the previous trace in the session and pauses e Step Forward Shows the next trace in the session and pauses 3 10 I Q RECORDING TOOLBAR In Zero Span mode the I Q recording toolbar is located below the graticule displays The toolbar contains a number of controls for configuring and capturing UO waveforms See Taking Measurem
9. incoming traces See Additional Features Importing Path Loss and Limit Line Tables for more information Import gt Path Loss gt Clear Path Loss Table Clear any loaded path loss table 15 O Started The Menu Import gt Limit Lines gt Import Limit Line Table Import a set of limit lines which then the incoming trace is tested against Limit lines are two lines across the span which defines an acceptable amplitude region for a trace You can specify a maximum limit or a maximum and minimum set See Additional Features Importing Path Loss and Limit Line Tables for more information Import gt Limit Lines gt Clear Limit Line Table Remove the active limit line table Connect Device If no device is connected this will attempt to discover all Signal Hound devices connected to your PC and list the devices and their serial numbers From this list you may select a single device for the software to connect to Disconnect Device This option disconnects the currently connected device This option combined with Connect Device is useful for cycling a devices power or swapping devices without closing the Signal Hound software Exit Disconnect the device and close the software 3 5 2 Edit Menu Restore Default Layout After selecting this option the software will restore its original layout following the next time the application is launched Title Enable or disable a custom title The title appears above the graticu
10. or woke up from hibernation For these units try a power cycle before restarting the software If it is the first time the device has been connected to a PC the device might require many seconds to identify and install the latest drivers for the device Usually a PC will notify you if this identification process is occurring and when it is finished Wait until the device has been properly identified by your PC You can verify this by finding the device in the device manager It will bear the Signal Hound name if it has been identified If a power cycle still does not allow you to connect the device it is possible the device drivers were not successfully installed See the Driver Installation section for information about the BB60 drivers 8 1 2 The device is connected but does not exhibit a solid green light For the BB series spectrum analyzers if the device LED is not solid green after connecting it to the PC there are a couple steps you can try e Power cycle the device by disconnecting the USB cable from the spectrum analyzer end If the provided cable is a USB y cable ensure both USB ends are connected to the PC before connecting it to the device e Update power management settings On some laptops and PCs in other countries the default power management settings might be geared towards saving energy The Signal Hound spectrum analyzers are high performance USB devices and require a full USB power supply to operate normally In the Con
11. pulsed or intermittent signals For making average power measurements make sure your detector is set to average and power If the signal is modulated either set your RBW wider than your modulation or center the signal and use the channel power utility 6 Additional Features The Spike software has a number of useful utilities They are described here 6 1 PRINTING Using the File gt Print menu you can print exactly what is shown on the graticule Be careful if the software is still updating traces you may not print the trace you wanted Use the print preview option to see exactly what you will be printing Tip The active color scheme is used for printing as well Under the View Colors menu we provide a simple printer friendly color scheme to help you save ink ie S 6 2 SAVING IMAGES Using the File gt Save to Image menu option you can save the current graticule view as a PNG JPG or BMP image The resulting resolution of the image is the exact resolution of your graticule when you choose to save To obtain the highest resolution image maximize the software and slide the control panels out of the way The active color scheme is used in the resulting image 33 i Features Importing Path Loss and Limit Line Tables 6 3 IMPORTING PATH LOSS AND LIMIT LINE TABLES Using the File gt Import menu options you can import path loss and limit line tables from simple csv files CSV stands for Comma S
12. sold separately may be used to make return loss measurements e Connect your tracking generator to the directional coupler s OUT port e Connect your spectrum analyzer to the directional coupler s COUPLED port e Use the IN port as your test port Leave it open reflecting 100 of power e Ifa cable will be used between the test port and the antenna connect it to the IN port but leave the other end of the cable open e Click Store Thru You should see a line at 0 dB e Connect your device to test e g antenna to the IN port or cable Return loss will be plotted Once again measurement accuracy will benefit from 3 to 6 dB pads on the Signal Hound devices prior to Store Thru This method is not as accurate as using a precision vector network analyzer but with a good directional coupler accuracy within a few tenths of a dB is typical 4 4 3 1 Adjusting an Antenna To adjust an antenna for a certain frequency use the Return Loss setup above Lengthen shorten and tweak impedance matching elements until the desired return loss is achieved Be aware that you will be radiating some RF during this process It is your responsibility to understand and obey laws regarding transmitting on those frequencies 4 4 4 Manual Tracking Generator Sweeps To test devices with bandwidths below 50 Hz e g 60 Hz notch filter or if you need more than 90 dB of dynamic range do not use Scalar Network Analysis mode Instead stay in Swept Analysi
13. IVER INSTALLATION The drivers shipped for the BB60 are for 32 and 64 bit operating systems and are placed in the application folder during installation The drivers x86 folder is for 32 bit drivers and the drivers x64 folder for the 64 bit drivers The drivers should install automatically during setup If for some reason the drivers did not install correctly you can manually install them in two ways by following the instructions below To manually install the BB series drivers e g BB60C navigate to the application folder where you installed the Spike software and find the Drivers64bit exe file If you are on a 32 bit system find the Drivers32bit exe file Right click it and Run as administrator The console text will tell you if the installation was successful To manually install the SA series drivers e g USB SA44B navigate to the application folder where you installed the Spike software and find the CDM v2 12 00 WHQL Certified exe file Right click it and Run as administrator Follow the installation instructions If manually running the driver installers did not work make sure the driver files are located in their respective folders and follow the instructions below You may manually install the drivers through the Windows device manager On Windows 7 systems with the device plugged in click the Start Menu and Device and Printers Find the FX3 unknown USB 3 0 device and right click the icon and select Properties From there s
14. Spike Spectrum Analyzer Software User Manual Signal Hound Spike Spectrum Analyzer Software User Manual 2015 Signal Hound Inc 35707 NE 86th Ave La Center WA 98629 USA Phone 360 263 5006 Fax 360 263 5007 Contents e 6 UNK e EE 6 VAUT LE lo ET 6 21 Initial le Ce le 6 AS IS 6 221 System Requirements Vii ads 6 23 INEM Sta la A EE ee 7 ZA Connecting Your Signal HOUNA ercer a a aon a tb 8 2 5 Running the Software for the First Time 8 3 Getting KE EE 8 3 1 TNE Ee DE 9 3 2 Raten 9 OZ MEIS MEN eee eenen etend 70 322 Sweep EE 11 323 Pemo SEUUNGS DA DA A hennen tea 13 Weep TOON A zie dir eneen da reese eebe de d a de iia 15 3 4 Zero span TOO Davis iii 15 E RENE 15 DOs LFW CACTI E 15 A ENS E P lssasvsaseses nssaavasas esa hassversvsssasastnashasavessvsasieisesstvsesueestaseasasessseash 16 EE EE 16 AT ANAE ee 16 EE Se a da o o ll ld o do o de o e o o 17 HOO TIC A a inlets 17 Eeer 17 BOS OID BeBe ih RB deer Be A eeen deedeetee lAes 18 EEN 18 3 7 The Status Bar 18 3 8 Annunciator Uer 19 3 9 Playback Tool bai annen dienende ende dane 19 3 1 01 0 Recording Toolbar ans tnenanrerstrannetehdnnmtetutnenhentianntketidte 19 A Modes HOP a eeh 20 SEELEN Siete ee eee tcp re ce EA E rere ere care revere reve ety eenen 20 A 2 Real Time Spectrum Analysis sonoro oransenassnnanserdentnansteaententsetasnedentetanten indenken tetasteusntnedgedaen daadrtastgntadetken dadadada 20 Geen 21 4 4 Scalar Network Analyzer ici 23 4 4
15. The software will determine the tracking generator s frequency step from your entry A 100 point sweep is a good starting point If you will be measuring an amplifier select Active Device Leave High Range checked unless you need faster sweeps at the expense of dynamic range o If you need accurate measurements below 45 dB you must use the default settings of Passive Device High Range 4 4 2 Performing Sweeps Before accurate measurements can be made the software must establish a baseline something to call O dB insertion loss In the Spike software this is accomplished by clicking Store Thru 1 Connect your tracking generator RF output to your spectrum analyzer RF input This can be accomplished using the included SMA to SMA adapter or anything else you want the software to establish as the 0 dB reference e g the 0 dB setting on a step attenuator or a 20 dB attenuator you will be including in your amplifier test setup 2 Click Store Thru and wait for the sweep to complete You should see a line at O dB when this process completes At this point readings from O dB to approximately 45 dB are calibrated 3 Optional If you need accurate measurements below 45 dB insert a fixed SMA attenuator and then click Store 20 dB Pad The actual attenuation value does not matter but it must attenuate the signal from the TG by at least 16 dB and not more than 32 dB This corrects for any offsets between the high range and low range sweeps givi
16. alar network analysis and how the Signal Hound devices perform this task please refer to the Signal Hound Tracking Generator user manual Ensure the TG sync port on the tracking generator is connected to the Sync Out port on the SA series spectrum analyzer r 7 H j When Scalar Network Analysis is selected an ica descarta additional control panel is added to the Sweep Setting Sweep Size 100 000 pts control panel Sweep Type Passive Device High Range Store Thru Store204BPad This control panel exposes additional controls for configuring network analyzer sweeps 23 O of Operation Scalar Network Analyzer 4 4 1 Configuring Scalar Network Analyzer Sweeps The controls for Frequency Amplitude and Tracking Generator are used to configure your sweep as follows e Use the Frequency controls to configure the desired center frequency and span o For most devices a start frequency of gt 250 kHz and a span of gt 100 kHz is recommended This maximizes dynamic range and sweep speed o For crystals or other very high Q circuits with a bandwidth of 50 Hz to 10 kHz select a span of 100 kHz or less A slower narrow band mode will be automatically selected In this mode a 100 point sweep takes about 7 seconds but the sweep updates at each point e Use the Amplitude controls to set your Reference Level typically to 10 dBm e Using the Tracking Generator Controls o Select your desired sweep size
17. are overwritten and relieves you of determining file names when you really want to capture a signal immediately Pressing record on the playback tool bar causes the software to immediately begin recording All playback files are saved in your My Documents folder with the bbr file extension When replaying a saved session all functionality of the software remains You can place markers activate min max average traces as well as view the recording using persistence and spectrogram views In addition the playback toolbar allows you to pause step and rewind your way through a saved session using the slider bar as well as various control buttons Tip The title is also recorded and shown during playback Use a title to describe the session ie Se 5 3 1 Q CAPTURES In Zero Span mode a user can save a short duration UO capture 1 Q captures can be recorded in binary format or in a text based format such as CSV This is useful for viewing captures in other analysis programs such as Labview Matlab Excel or your own custom program 1 Q captures are performed in zero span mode using the I Q recording toolbar located below the zero span graticule displays You can configure aspects of the capture such as the save directory the recording length and recording type The 1 Q capture files will be named as the current date and time This is to prevent any capture from overwriting another Two files are saved for each capture an XML
18. ated variables other than center frequency are saved with presets TRY THIS Utilize sweep mode to find a signal of interest and start the Audio Player to immediately begin listening at that frequency 7 Display Modes Spike provides you with many ways to view the spectrum Each type of display is useful for different purposes Below is an introduction to some of the views 7 1 SPECTROGRAM The software offers two visual representations of a spectrogram the traditional spectral waterfall and a three dimensional representation where amplitude is represented by color and height Our spectrogram displays show spectral history of up to 128 sweeps Below is an image of the spectral waterfall displaying an FM station broadcasting with HD radio The width of the view is representative of the selected span The colors along a horizontal line represent the amplitude of that given sweep More recent sweeps appear at the front bottom of the display Low amplitudes are represented by blue and as amplitude increases the color moves through the color spectrum from blue to green to red 36 Display Modes Persistence Figure 3 FM Station with HD Radio side bands 1 2 PERSISTENCE The persistence display is helpful for viewing spectral density over time Instead of showing a single trace persistence uses the last n traces to create an image where color is representative of how often a signal appears The software uses the col
19. correct and ensure the Relative Power readouts are stable and very close to zero You are now ready to begin making stepped output power measurements Perform the following steps for each output power level step 5 Decrease step the output power level of the UUT by no more than 10 dB 6 Record any relevant readouts 7 If the measuring receiver suggests to recalibrate the device at a new power range do so now Recalibration takes about 3 seconds and is necessary to make continued accurate measurements to lower power levels 8 Return to step 5 If at any time you want to start the test over you can do so by selecting a new center frequency or selecting the Sync button and starting over at step 1 Be careful of IF overload messages which warn you that your UUT output power is too large for the current power range Avoid this by either decreasing your UUT power or pressing the Sync button to return the measuring receiver utility to the highest power range As you decrease the output power of the UUT the measuring receiver prompts you to enter new power ranges The ranges are finite and a warning will be issued if you have stepped over a range To resolve this increase your UUT output power slowly until you can enter the next lower power range 5 8 TIPS FOR BETTER MEASUREMENTS Signal Hound spectrum analyzers have internal gain and attenuation settings that are automatically adjusted for your selected reference level While the software all
20. d contain a control panel for controlling zero span sweeps Zero span mode offers three viewports 1 Demodulation Waveform Plot Shows the results of performing AM FM PM demodulation The waveform is plotted as Amplitude Frequency Phase over time depending on the modulation type selected 2 Spectrum Plot Shows the frequency spectrum of the zero span capture The plot shows the amplitude over frequency of the waveform signal 3 UO Waveform Plot Plots the individual and Q channels as amplitude over time The control panel contains inputs for controlling the capture settings of the device as well as specifying trigger conditions for the zero span sweeps You can specify a video trigger external trigger or no trigger Video triggers allow you to begin the sweep only after a signal exceeds the amplitude specified in the Video Trigger input This is useful when you need to analyze a periodic transmission If your transmitter has a trigger output you can route this to the device trigger input Select external trigger to cause the zero span sweep to begin after this hardware trigger You can trigger on the rising edge or falling edge of a signal A 3 3V CMOS trigger with a 50 ohm output impedance is ideal but 5V logic with a 50 ohm output impedance is acceptable Higher or lower output impedance may work with a short BNC cable but longer cables may cause issues with reflection If your trigger output is sensitive to loading start zer
21. dware to its initial power on state by performing a device master reset 3 4 ZERO SPAN TOOLBAR The zero span toolbar is visible when the device is operating in zero span mode The toolbar is located below the file menu and contains controls for manipulating the displays and controlling acquisitions Demod Selection The drop down combo box allows you to select which type of demodulation to perform and display You may perform amplitude frequency or phase demodulation on the UO captures The top zero span plot will display the modulation and allow the placement of markers and delta markers on the demodulated signal Marker Off Disables an active marker on the waveform Marker Delta Toggles the delta marker on the waveform Single Request the software to perform a capture and pause the display If a video or external trigger is configured the software will continue to update until a trigger is found Auto Request the software continuously update with the specified trigger Preset Restores the software and hardware to its initial power on state by performing a device master reset 3 5 THE MENU 3 5 1 File Menu Print Print the current graticule view The resulting print will not include the control panel or the menu toolbars Save as Image Save the current graticule view as a PNG JPG or BMP image Import gt Path Loss gt Import Path Loss Table This menu option allows you to introduce path loss corrections for the
22. e 76659 Toolbar C gt mas OM PEI mona Status Bar Figure 1 Spike Graphical User Interface 3 1 THE GRATICULE The graticule is a grid of squares used as a reference when displaying sweeps and when making measurements The software always displays a 10x10 grid for the graticule Inside and around the graticule is text which can help you make sense of the graticule and the sweeps displayed within 3 2 THE CONTROL PANELS The control panels are a collection of interface elements for configuring the device and configuring the measurement utilities of the software On first start up a control panel will appear on both sides of the graticule Each control panel can be moved to accommodate a users preference The panels may be stacked vertically dropped on top of each other tabbed or placed side by side You can accomplish this by dragging the panels via the control panels title bar Each control panel contains multiple subsets of related controls Each subset will be described in more depth below Each subset can be collapsed or expanded Once you have set up the interface how you like the software will remember this the next time you launch the application O Started The Control Panels 3 2 1 Measurements The Measurements control panel allows the user to configure the spectrum related measurements This control panel is visible while the software is in standard swept analysis and real time operating modes 3 2 1 1 Trace Con
23. e way to export a desired signal is to record the spectrum using the playback toolbar If you are able to capture your signal in a playback session you can playback the session pause on your trace of choice and export the trace Min and Max hold traces are another way to capture intermittent hard to view signals Min and max hold keep track of the minimum and maximum values over a period of time storing them in a separate viewable trace 5 9 MEASURING CHANNEL POWER The Control Panel allows you to control the channel power utility Channel width is width in Hz of the band whose power you wish to measure Channel spacing refers to the center to center frequency difference between the center channel and adjacent channels Between channels there is typically but not always a small guard band whose power is ignored For example the image below shows a channel bandwidth of 180 kHz and spacing of 200 kHz The image shows the FM station 101 1 in the center channel Each channel will be integrated and the resulting power is display at the top of the channel The adjacent channels also show the channel power as well as the difference in power between the center channel and itself In the example below the difference might be used to determine if any power is leaking into an adjacent FM band 28 O Measurements Modulation Analysis VBW 77 1 Hz 4 Int Ref 110 00 Center 101 Span 600 For best results set your video processi
24. elect the Hardware tab and then O Started Connecting Your Signal Hound Properties Select the Change Settings button Hit the Update Drivers button and then Browse My Computer for drivers From there navigate to the BB60 application folder and select the folder name drivers x64 Hit OK and wait for the drivers to install If for some reason the drivers still did not install properly contact Signal Hound 2 4 CONNECTING YOUR SIGNAL HOUND With the software and device drivers installed you are ready to connect your device The supplied device USB cable should first be connected into your PC first then connected to your device If your device supplies a y cable ensure both USB ends are connected into your PC before connecting your device The first time you connect a device to your PC the PC may take a few seconds recognizing the device and installing any last drivers Wait for this process to complete before launching the software When your device is ready the front panel LED should show a constant green color 2 5 RUNNING THE SOFTWARE FOR THE FIRST TIME Once the software and drivers are installed and you have connected your device you can launch the software You can do this through the desktop shortcut or the Spike exe file found in the installation directory If the device is connected a progress bar will indicate the device preparing If no device is connected or found the software will notify you At this point connect the de
25. ents 1 Q Recording for more information 19 E of Operation Swept Analysis Record Directory Browse C Users Al Documents SignalHound Record Length ms 1 000 Saveas Binary e Record e Record Directory Specify the storage directory for all saved UO captures The default location is the current users Documents folder e Record Length Specify the duration of the recording Recording lengths can be specified between 1 millisecond and 1 second e Save As Specify the file format as either binary or text based e Record Perform one capture 4 Modes of Operation The Spike software allows the Signal Hound spectrum analyzers to operate in multiple modes of operation Common modes of operation available to all Signal Hound devices include swept analysis real time spectrum analysis and demodulation analysis using the zero span mode Other device specific operating modes are described in this section as well All Signal Hound spectrum analyzers are real time devices This means the device is capable of continuously streaming the IF frequency with no time gaps Having no time gaps is critical for measurements and tests requiring high probability of intercept POI See the section below Real Time Spectrum Analysis for a more in depth discussion of the real time device capabilities 1 SWEPT ANALYSIS This mode of operation is the mode which is commonly associated with spectrum analyzers Through the software you will configure t
26. eparated Value The format for a typical file might look like this 23 56 32 123 45 512 Two or more values separated by a comma each line ending with a carriage return These files can be created with a simple text editor or spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel For path loss tables we use a CSV file with two values per line The first value on each line is a frequency value in MHz and the second value is a dBm offset The frequency values must be in increasing order The path loss corrections are linearly interpolated between these data points and are flat entering and leaving the span with the amplitude of the flat corrections being the first and last data point respectively Here is an example of a path loss CSV file built in a spreadsheet program 732 0 738 2 And here is the resulting path loss corrections applied to incoming traces for a 10MHz span centered at 735 MHz 34 Features Audio Player Amplitude dBm 730 732 734 736 738 740 Frequency MHz We can see the linear interpolation between the two points and flat lines off the sides The format for limit lines is very similar Each line with contain two or three values If you only want a max limit line each line of the CSV will contain two values if you want max and minimum limit lines each line will contain three values The first value will be a frequency in MHz followed by the optional minimum amplitude in dBm and the maximum amplit
27. erence level to the amplitude of the active marker Peak Left If the selected marker is active move the marker to the next peak on the left Peak Right If the selected marker is active move the marker to the next peak on the right For peak left right peaks are defined by a group of frequency bins 1 standard deviation above the mean amplitude of the sweep 3 2 1 3 Offsets Ref Offset Adjust the displayed amplitude to compensate for an attenuator probe or preamplifier The offset is specified as a flat dB offset This offset is applied immediately after a sweep is received from the device before any measurement is performed 3 2 1 4 Channel Power Width Specify the width in Hz of the channels to measure Spacing Specify the center to center spacing for each channel Enabled When enabled channel power and adjacent channel power measurements will become active on the screen The adjacent and main channels are only displayed when the width and spacing specifies a channel within the current span See Taking Measurements Measuring Channel Power for more information 3 2 1 5 Occupied Bandwidth Enabled When enabled occupied bandwidth measurements will become active on the screen Power Percent power allows the percentage of the integrated power of the occupied bandwidth measurement to be adjusted 3 2 2 Sweep Settings The Sweep Settings control panel controls the sweep acquisition parameters for the device in
28. file which describes the capture settings and either a binary or CSV file When saving in binary alternating UO samples are saved directly as 32 bit values When saving as text a CSV file contains the alternating UO samples Binary files are more space efficient and require less time to save to a hard drive but text files offer more convenience An WO capture begins when the record button is pressed on the toolbar The capture follows the current triggering rules Therefore if a video trigger is set up the capture will not occur until a video trigger occurs If the software is currently triggered and not updating when record is pressed the software will arm the trigger once more 1 Q captures can be as short as 1 millisecond and as long as 1 second Text based recordings at full bandwidths can take many minutes to record 27 a Measurements Capturing Signals of Interest 5 4 CAPTURING SIGNALS OF INTEREST CSV files can be created of traces with the Trace Export button found on the control panel CSV files are useful for performing further signal analysis or plotting outside the Signal Hound application When exporting a trace into a CSV file the currently shown trace is exported Because of this it may be difficult to obtain a CSV file of a signal of interest For example an intermittent signal which appears sporadically may be difficult to capture or some modes such as Real Time signal analysis are prohibited from saving CSV files On
29. g or falling edge Applies to both external and video triggers Video Trigger Select the amplitude for the video trigger to trigger on This value is ignored if video triggering is not selected Trigger Position When a video or external trigger is selected trigger position determines what percentage of samples of the sweep are displayed before the trigger For example in a 100 point sweep with a 10 trigger position the sweep will display the 10 points before the trigger occurance and the first 90 points after the trigger 3 2 3 3 AM FM Modulation Analysis Enabled Enables the modulation analysis display Low Pass Set the audio filter cutoff frequency See Taking Measurements Modulation Analysis for more information 14 EN Started Sweep Toolbar 3 3 SWEEP TOOLBAR The sweep toolbar is visible when the device is operating in the normal sweep mode and real time mode The toolbar is located above the graticule and contains controls for displaying and controlling traces Spectrogram Enables the display of two and three dimensional spectrogram displays See Display Modes Spectrogram Persistence Enables the persistence display See Display Modes Persistence Persistence Clear Clear the contents of the persistence display Single Request the software perform one more sweep before pausing Continuous Request that the software continuously retrieves sweeps from the device Preset Restores the software and har
30. he device and request the device perform a single sweep across your desired span Spans larger than the devices instantaneous bandwidth are the result of acquiring multiple IF patches and concatenating the results of the FFT processing on each of these IFs The processing performed on each IF patch is determined by the settings provided Each time a trace is returned the device waits until the next trace request For you the software user you can choose to continuously retrieve traces or manually request them one at a time with the Single and Continuous buttons found on the Sweep Toolbar 4 2 REAL TIME SPECTRUM ANALYSIS One of the issues with the standard sweep mode is the blind time between each trace Blind time refers to the time between spectrum sampling During this time we are processing the last capture or viewing the data During this time it is possible to miss an event The picture below shows a missed event in green 20 O of Operation Zero Span Analysis Amplitude Idle Spectrum Capture Blind Time Missed Spectrum amp Missed Event Green Spectrum Capture Time In this image we see an event missed due to the blind time between spectrum sampling With Real Time spectrum analysis we can prevent this and capture ALL possible events Signal Hound devices are capable of streaming the full IF bandwidth with no time gaps If we limit our spans to the maximum instantaneous bandwidth we can now process every spectr
31. isplay the software and API version 3 6 PREFERENCES The preferences menu can be found under Edit Menu gt Preferences The preferences menu contains a collection of settings to further configure the Spike software e Trace Width Determines to overall width of the trace being drawn on the graticule e Graticule Width Determines the width of the lines that make up the graticule e Graticule Dotted Set whether the non border graticule lines are dotted or solid e Colors Control the colors of various software features e Sweep Delay Set a delay which occurs after each device sweep This delay can be used to artificially slow down the rate of sweeps which can reduce overall processor usage and increase the length of time a recording covers e Real Time Accumulation Determines how often a sweep is returned from the device operating in Real Time mode A lower value increases overall resolution of events in Real Time mode but increases processing significantly Not all PCs will be capable of handling the lowest setting Recommended values range from 16 32ms To learn more about Real Time mode see Modes of Operation Real Time Spectral Analysis e Playback Sweep Delay Set how fast the sweeps are played back from a recorded sweep file e Max Save File Size Control the maximum size of a sweep recording The software will stop recording when the max file size has been reached 3 THE STATUS BAR The status bar runs across the
32. le and is included in the screen captures via printing as well as session recordings Clear Title Remove the current title Colors Load various default graticule and trace color schemes Title Enable or disable a custom title The title appears above the graticule and is included in screen captures via printing as well as session recordings Program Style Select a color theme for the main windows of the application Preferences Opens a configuration dialog allowing the further configuration of the software See Getting Started Preferences 3 5 3 Presets The presets menu bar provides a way for users to manage the preset functionality for the software Each preset offers the capability to recall a full software configuration This is convenient for recalling specific measurement configurations Presets can be renamed Presets can be recalled with keyboard shortcuts Presets can only be loaded by the same type of device which was used when the preset was saved 3 5 4 Settings Reference Change the source of the reference oscillator You can choose to use the internal reference or an attached 10MHz reference on the appropriate BNC port Internal Use the internal 10MHz clock External Sin Wave Use an external AC 10MHz reference clock External CMOS TTL Use an external 10MHz CMOS input clock Spur Reject When spur rejection is on additional signal processing is enabled attempting to remove spurious signals which are the re
33. linear in voltage and has much higher resolution than is displayed The marker may be re placed at any time by clicking the graticule or by using the left and right arrows to shift the marker one sample point to the left or right 5 1 2 Using the Delta Marker To measure differences or changes in frequency and or amplitude you can use the Delta markers To use the delta markers you must first create a reference point With a marker active click the Delta control panel button This places a reference location on the graticule Now you can move the marker elsewhere on the graticule and the marker readings will report the difference between the marker and the reference 5 1 3 Measuring Low Level Signals To measure low level signals there are a few tricks to getting accurate readings First set your reference level to 50 dBm or lower This internally selects the highest sensitivity settings Using an external time base and narrow span 1 KHz or less should give you the best results Video averaging may be required for a stable amplitude reading 26 O Measurements Saving Sessions 9 2 SAVING SESSIONS The playback toolbar allows you to record and replay a continuous session up to the file size set in Preferences gt Max Save File Size The length in time of the session will be dependent on the average sweep speed of the session and trace length Sessions files are named based on the current time and date This naming scheme ensures no files
34. match RBW at all times This is for convenience and performance reasons 3 2 2 4 Acquisition Controls e Video Units In the system unprocessed amplitude data may be represented as voltage linear power or logarithmic power Select linear power for RMS power measurements Logarithmic power is closest to a traditional spectrum analyzer in log scale e Video Detector Settings As the video data is being processed the minimum maximum and average amplitudes are being stored You have a choice of which is to be displayed e Sweep Time o For SA series devices the sweep time value is ignored o For BB series devices sweep time is used to suggest how long the spectrum analyzer should acquire data for the particular configure sweep The actual sweep time may be significantly different from the time requested depending on RBW VBW and span settings as well as hardware limitations 3 2 3 Demod Settings The Demod Settings control panels allows configuration of zero span captures It is only visible when in Zero Span mode 3 2 3 1 Capture Settings e Input Pwr Expected input power of the signal Input power controls the reference level and the gain and attenuation It is suggested to keep gain and attenuation set to Auto so the software can best choose them based on the Input Pwr 13 O Started The Control Panels Center Specifies the tuned center frequency of the capture or in another way the OHz frequency of the UO data captu
35. ng accurate measurements down to the noise floor 4 Insert the device under test DUT between the tracking generator and the spectrum analyzer and take measurements All traces and markers are accessible during the network analyzer sweeps Note Changing the sweep settings frequency amplitude etc will require repeating steps 1 4 24 O of Operation Scalar Network Analyzer 4 4 2 1 Improving Accuracy One shortcoming of the Signal Hound tracking generators is poor VSWR return loss performance However this can be easily overcome by adding good 3 dB or 6 dB pads fixed SMA attenuators to the output of the tracking generator and or the input of the spectrum analyzer A good 6 dB pad will improve return loss by nominally 12 dB to gt 20 dB and should enable accurate measurements These may be included when sweeping the thru effectively nulling them out This will decrease your overall dynamic range 4 4 2 2 Testing High Gain Amplifiers When measuring an amplifier that will have gain of 20 to 40 dB the use of a 20 dB pad is required Simply insert the 20 dB pad before you Store Thru and leave the pad on either the SA or TG when connecting to the amplifier For amplifiers with more than 20 dBm maximum output the pad should go on the output of the amplifier If an amplifier cannot safely handle 5 dBm place the pad on the amplifier s input 4 4 3 Measuring Return Loss A directional coupler of appropriate frequency range
36. ng power to much lower levels than in swept mode The measuring receiver utility can be accessed through File Menu gt Utility gt Measuring Utility Enabling the utility will bring up the dialog box shown below Measuring Receiver MAX Synchronous Level Detector Center Freq 50 000000 MHz Amplitude Range Y High Power Range _ Mid Power Range Low Power Range RF Frequency 50 000003 MHz RF Power 10 211 dBm Relative Power 9 992 dB Average Relative Power 9 987 dB Sync Done 5 7 1 Measurement Procedure This section outlines the procedure for making TRFL measurements with the measuring receiver utility 1 With the Signal Hound device connected to the PC and application software running select Measuring Reciever from the Utilities file menu 31 a Measurements Tips for Better Measurements 2 The measuring receiver will open and perform a 3 second calibration Wait for this calibration to finish and connect your unit under test UUT 3 Prepare your UUT by selecting the maximum output power and center frequency of the device Ensure the UUT output is a CW signal 4 Prepare the software by entering the center frequency of the UUT and pressing Sync which recalibrates the measuring receiver for the new center frequency Note For correct operation ensure the frequency entered is close to the output frequency of the UUT After step 4 above verify the RF Power and RF Frequency readouts are
37. ng to AVERAGE POWER and turn spur reject off A native bandwidth should be selected for the most accurate power measurements The software will set most of this up for you automatically The Spike software is capable of performing analysis on AM and FM modulated audio To perform audio analysis the device must be operating in Zero Span mode and can be enabled on the control panel When enabled the device will be configured properly and a measurement readout will appear in conjunction with the zero span display plots 29 Taking Measurements Modulation Analysis 0 00 100 00 Ref 156 250000 kHz _ 20 971520 ms per div AM FM Modulation Analysis E E E OA ENNE FM RMS 8 438988 kHz AM RMS 0 165 FM Peak 12 025021 kHz AM Peak 0 681 FM Peak 12 027632 kHz AM Peak 0 580 FM Rate 999 998136 Hz AM Rate 5 373584 kHz FM SINAD 49 21 dB FM THD 0 07 one Center 462 587500 MHz 65536 pts Div 10 dB FFT Size 4096 pts 0 20 Bi Ba Sample Rate 0 3125 MS s BE ere eae cee ever eae eran emcee eee Sree App E TH teed eee E T EEE Go ica 0 20 B i Center 462 587500 MHz Span 312 500 kHz IF Bandwidth 100 000000 kHz Capture Len 0 209715s The modulation analysis utility performs a number of basic measurements on an audio signal such as e RF Center records the carrier frequency e Peak records the minimum and maximum peak of the audio signal recorded in
38. o span mode with external trigger enabled before connecting your trigger to ensure the trigger port is configured as an input 22 Modes of Operation Scalar Network Analyzer 4 4 SCALAR NETWORK ANALYZER If a SA series spectrum analyzer is the current active device and a Signal Hound tracking generator is connected to the PC select Analysis Mode gt Scalar Network Analysis in the file menu Scalar network analysis is used to measure the insertion loss of a device such as a filter attenuator or amplifier across a range of frequencies This mode when used with a directional coupler also measures return loss Fie Foll Fresets Setings Analysis Modo Ummes Help Ref 10 00 dB Step 5 000000 MHz VBW Div 10 0 Atten fons er R Mkr 1 455 000000 MHz 0 09 dB Pre 300000 ots Type Clour 5 vente Segep Typo Passive Deuce si High Range Y Store Thau Store 2068 Pad 1000 Span ai 640 000000 MHz Center DE 430 000900 ue Makar One Start 170 000000 MHz Place On Trace One Stop 810 000000 MHz Update Y 30 00 Step 20 000900 MHz Active Y Full Span Zeto Span Peak Search Delta Poak Left Peak Right Ret ale 10 000 eam EN 10 000 48 50 00 o Ret Onset 0 000 aB zs zong 00 Start 170 000000 MHz Center 490 000000 MHz Stop 810 000000 MHz Span 640 000000 MHz 129 pts in 584 ms Figure 2 The Spike software and a SA44B and TG44A sweeping an inline passive bandpass filter To learn more about sc
39. oduct No other warranty is expressed or implied Signal Hound specifically disclaims implied warranties or merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose 40 E and Disclaimer Exclusive Remedies 10 4 EXCLUSIVE REMEDIES The remedies provided herein are the Buyer s sole and exclusive remedies Signal Hound shall not be liable for any direct indirect special incidental or consequential damages whether based on contract tort or any other legal theory 10 5 CERTIFICATION Signal Hound certifies that at the time of shipment this product conformed to its published specifications 10 6 CREDIT NOTICE Windows and Excel are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries Intel and Core are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corp in the United States and other countries Labview is a registered trademark of National Instruments Corporation in the United States and other countries Matlab is a registered trademark of The MathWorks Inc in the United States and other countries 41
40. oftware can be found on the CD included with your purchase or on our website www SignalHound com The latest software version can always be found on our website Once you have located the software run the setup exe and follow the on screen instructions You must have administrator privileges to install the software You may be asked to install the Windows Runtime Frameworks as this must be installed for the software to run The installer will install the device drivers for the Signal Hound products during installation as well It is recommended to install the application folder in the default location 2 2 1 System Requirements Supported Operating Systems MARN Driver Installation e Windows 7 64 bit e Windows 8 64 bit Minimum System Requirements e Processor requirements depend on which device you are planning to operate e SA series Dual core Intel processors e BB series Intel Desktop quad core i Series processors Sandybridge generation or later e RAM requirements e Minimum 4 GB e Recommended 8 GB RAM e The software will on average require less than 1GB of memory e Peripheral support e SA series USB 2 0 e BB series Native USB 3 0 support e Graphics drivers o Minimum OpenGL 2 0 support o Recommended OpenGL 3 0 support Certain display features are accelerated with this functionality but it is not required Our software is highly optimized for Intel CPUs We recommend them exclusively 2 3 DR
41. or spectrum to represent density over time If a signal rarely occurs in a location a light blue is used to color the trace If a signal continues to appear in the same location the color will change from blue to green to red Red is an indication of a signal persisting in one location for a good deal of time Div 10 dB RBW 9 86 kHz VBW 9 86 kHz 10 00 RefLevel 10 dBm Atten 10 dB Int Ref Playback E E E 19 02 2013 11 26 20 088 50 00 Amp dBm 70 00 90 00 110 00 Start 2 4600000 GHz Center 2 4700000 GHz Stop 2 4800000 GHz Step 10 0000000 MHz Span 20 0000000 MHz Sweep 32 ms 1024 points Figure 4 Persistence showing the signal from a poorly shielded commercial microwave oven in Real Time mode 37 O Unable to Find or Open the Device 8 Troubleshooting If you experience a problem with your Signal Hound please try these troubleshooting techniques before contacting us This section will contain general troubleshooting tips as well as device specific tips If a troubleshooting tip applies to a specific device the tip will make note of it 8 1 UNABLE TO FIND OR OPEN THE DEVICE Ensure the device is plugged in and the green light is on If it is not unplug then plug in the device Once the green light turns on use the File menu to try to connect the device again 8 1 1 The Device Light is solid green and still won t connect Early BB60A units sometimes require a power cycle after the PC has restarted
42. ows the user to manually control these settings the AUTO value should be used for nearly all measurements Manual control may place the compression point below the reference level add spurious or residual signals or raise your noise floor There are times when a user wishes to increase the attenuator by 5 or 10 dB to improve linearity This can be important for reducing the amplitude of intermodulation products Rather than changing your attenuator setting simply change your reference level This is easier and more predictable than manually controlling the attenuator 32 i Features Printing For the best sensitivity and lowest noise floor set your reference level at or just above the maximum input amplitude To improve linearity and reduce intermodulation products set your reference level 10 or 20 dB above your signal level For narrow band and CW signals the noise floor comes down approximately 3 dB for each decrease in RBW When measuring low level CW signals narrower RBWs are recommended For maximum sensitivity a reference level of 50 dBm or lower is recommended This will set your attenuator to a minimum and set the internal gain to a maximum When your detector is set to average this is the equivalent to setting the minimum VBW for your current setup This will have the lowest peak to peak noise floor but will also average intermittent signals Set your VBW to auto and your detector to MIN MAX or MAX to measure
43. performance USB devices and require a full USB power supply to operate normally In the Control Panel gt Power Options change the power plan to high performance 8 2 THE SIGNAL HOUND IS NOT SWEEPING PROPERLY If the sweeps shown are not what you expect there are a number of things you can try f In the preset menu Presets gt Load Default Settings will return the application to default start up settings This might be useful if you have entered an unknown state Restarting the application is a quick way to reset any unknown settings or state The green Preset button performs a hard reset for the device and the software settings In rare instances communication between the application and device can become corrupted The Preset button should be used any time the device enters an undesirable state 8 3 THE DEVICE IS NOT VALID In the event the device ceases to operate or becomes corrupted the application might tell you the device does not appear to be valid Before contacting us attempt to power cycle the device and restart your computer to ensure nothing else is causing this issue If the issue persists please contact us 39 and Adjustment Warranty 9 Calibration and Adjustment Contact Signal Hound for more information regarding calibration software and required equipment 10 Warranty and Disclaimer 2013 2015 Signal Hound All rights reserved Reproduction adaptation or translation without prior written
44. permission is prohibited except as allowed under the copyright laws 10 1 WARRANTY The information contained in this manual is subject to change without notice Test Equipment Plus makes no warranty of any kind with regard to this material including but not limited to the implied warranties or merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose Signal Hound shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing performance or use of this material This Signal Hound product has a warranty against defects in material and workmanship for a period of two 2 years from date of shipment During the warranty period Signal Hound will at its option either repair replace or refund products that prove to be defective 10 2 WARRANTY SERVICE For warranty service or repair this product must be returned to Signal Hound The Buyer shall pay shipping charges to Signal Hound and Signal Hound shall pay UPS Ground or equivalent shipping charges to return the product to the Buyer However the Buyer shall pay all shipping charges duties and taxes to and from Signal Hound for products returned from another country 10 3 LIMITATION OF WARRANTY The foregoing warranty shall not apply to defects resulting from improper use by the Buyer Buyer supplied software or interfacing unauthorized modification or misuse or operation outside of the environmental specifications for the pr
45. racy Native RBW is available only for BB series spectrum analyzers and is ignored for SA series analyzers 12 O Started The Control Panels e RBW This controls the resolution bandwidth RBW For each span a range of RBWs may be used The RBW controls the FFT size and signal processing similar to selecting the IF band pass filters on an analog spectrum analyzer The selectable bandwidths displayed change whether you want native or non native bandwidths o Native resolution bandwidths are available from below 1 Hz to 10 1 MHz in powers of two Use the arrow buttons to move through the selectable RBWs o Non Native resolution bandwidths are available in a 1 3 10 sequence e g 1 kHz 3 kHz 10 kHz 30 kHz 100 kHz when using the arrow keys o For BB series devices RBW is restricted to Native RBW values in Real Time mode only e VBW This controls the Video Bandwidth VBW After the signal has been passed through the RBW filter it is converted to an amplitude This amplitude is then filtered by the Video Bandwidth filter o All RBW choices are available as Video Bandwidths with the constraint that VBW must be less than or equal to RBW o In Real Time mode VBW is not selectable e Auto RBW Having auto selected will choose reasonable and fast RBWs relative to your span If you will be changing your span drastically it is good to have this selected along with Auto VBW e Auto VBW Having auto VBW selected will force VBW to
46. re Gain Controls the internal device amplification It is recommended to keep this value set to Auto Atten Controls the internal device attenuation It is recommended to keep this value set to Auto Decimation Controls the overall decimation of the l Q data capture For example a decimation of 2 divides the reciever sample rate by 2 Increasing decimation rate increase the possible capture time of the software but decreases the time resolution of each capture Sample Rate Displays the sample rate of the current visible 1 Q data capture This number is equal to the device sample rate divided by the decimation value IF BW Intermediate Frgeuency Bandwidth Controls the bandwidth of the passband filter applied to the IQ data stream The bandwidth cannot exceed the nyquist frequency of the 1 Q data stream Auto IFBW When set to Auto the IF Bandwidth passes the entire bandwidth of the WO data capture Swp Time Sweep Time Controls the length of the zero span data capture The length is relative to the sample rate selected by decimation Sweep times are clamped when the resulting capture contains less than 20 samples and and at the upper end when the resulting capture contains more than 65536 samples 3 2 3 2 Trigger Settings Trigger Type Select a trigger type for the data capture When a trigger type is selected the captures are synchronized by the presence of a trigger Trigger Edge Select whether to trigger on a risin
47. s mode and use Utilities gt Tracking Generator Controls to set the tracking generator to a CW frequency output Use 25 DE Measurements Measuring Frequency and Amplitude Peak Search and Delta to establish your relative amplitude then insert the DUT and manually tune the TG across a narrow range of frequencies A TG output of 10 dBm combined with an RBW of 10 Hz should give you around 130 dB of dynamic range for most frequencies Care must be taken in cable and device placement to avoid crosstalk 5 Taking Measurements This section helps you learn how to measure analyze and record signals using the Spike software utilizing built in features such as markers record playback and channel power 5 1 MEASURING FREQUENCY AND AMPLITUDE 5 1 1 Using Markers The software has several tools for identifying a signal s frequency and amplitude The easiest to use is the marker There are 6 markers available each with its own reference To activate and place a marker you can left click inside the graticule or press the Peak Search button on the marker controls to place the marker on the current trace peak and activate it simultaneously Once a marker is active the frequency and amplitude readout of the marker is located in the top right of the graticule The marker s accuracy is dependent on the span and RBW Narrower spans and RBWs have higher marker accuracy The amplitude accuracy is NOT dependent on the vertical dB div since the I Q data is
48. standard swept analysis and real time modes 11 O Started The Control Panels 3 2 2 1 Frequency Controls Span controls the frequency difference between the start and stop frequencies centered on the center frequency A reduced span will be chosen if the new span causes the start or stop frequencies to fall outside the range of operation Using the arrows you can change the span using a 1 2 5 10 sequence Center allows you to change the center frequency of the sweep If a change in center frequency causes the start or stop frequencies to fall outside the range of operation the span will be reduced Using the arrows you can change the center frequency by step amount Start Stop allows you to change the start and stop frequency of the device Frequencies chosen outside the range of operation of the connected device are clamped Step allows you to change the step size of the up and down arrows on center frequency Full Span This will change the start stop center and span frequencies to select the largest span possible Zero Span Enter Zero Span mode using the current center frequency as the starting center frequency for zero span captures 3 2 2 2 Amplitude Controls Ref Level Changing the reference level sets the power level of the top graticule line The units you select here will change which units are displayed throughout the entire system When automatic gain and attenuation are set default you can expect to make
49. sult of mixing products Spur rejection roughly 16 O Started The Menu doubles sweep time and is great for cleaning up a steady signal but should not be used for pulsed RF or modulated signals Spur rejection is not available in real time mode Enable Manual Gain Atten Enable the ability to change gain and attenuation 3 5 5 Spectrum Analysis Idle Suspend operation Sweep Enter standard swept analysis See Modes of Operation Swept Analysis Real Time Enter real time analysis mode See Modes of Operation Real Time Spectrum Analysis Zero Span Enter zero span mode See Modes of Operation Zero Span Analysis Harmonics Viewer Selecting harmonics viewer displays the amplitude of the first 5 harmonics of the center frequency Scalar Network Analyzer If a SA series spectrum analyzer device is currently active and a Signal Hound tracking generator is connected to the PC the software will set up the system as a scalar network analyzer See Modes of Operation Scalar Network Analyzer Phase Noise Plot Displays the phase noise amplitude in dBc Hz vs offset from carrier when checked The carrier should be within 10kHz of the current center frequency The data is approximate and is limited by the phase noise of the Signal Hound itself For best phase noise measurements use an external 10 MHz reference The phase noise plot is only available for select Signal Hound spectrum analyzers 3 5 6 Trace Copy Trace Copy the
50. trol Panel gt Power Options change the power plan to high performance 38 O The Signal Hound is Not Sweeping Properly If the device is still exhibiting this behavior try installing the latest manufacturer USB drivers for your PC For Windows 8 systems this includes utilizing Windows updates until no more updates are available For Windows 7 systems determining your chipset version using the control panel e g Chipset Intel 7 Series C216 and downloading the latest USB motherboard drivers for your system from the Intel website by searching for your chipset with drivers Only download drivers from verified sources For all systems PC manufacturers provide driver updates on their website Search for your PC model and year to find them 8 1 3 The device disconnects during operation There are many reasons a Signal Hound device might experience an issue during operation Some issues are USB related issues and some might be related to PC performance Here are some things you can try to eliminate this behavior Disable anti virus software We have observed anti virus software interfering with the operation of Signal Hound spectrum analyzers on numerous occasions Remember to re enable anti virus software after closing the Spike software Update power management settings On some laptops and PCs in other countries the default power management settings might be geared towards saving energy The Signal Hound spectrum analyzers are high
51. trols The software offers up to six configurable traces All six traces can be customized and controlled through the measurements control panel When the software first launches only trace one is visible with a type of Clear 8 Write e Trace Select a trace The trace controls will populate with the new selected trace All future actions will affect this trace e Type The type control determines the behavior of the trace over a series of acquisitions e Off Disables the current trace e Clear amp Write Continuously displays successive sweeps updating the trace fully for each sweep e Max Hold For each sweep collected only the maximum trace points are retained and displayed e Min Hold For each sweep collected only the minimum trace points are retained and displayed e Min Max Hold For each sweep collected the minimum and maximum points are retained and displayed e Average Averages successive sweeps The number of sweeps to average together is determined by the Avg Count setting e Avg Count Change how many sweeps are averaged together when a trace type of average is selected e Color Change the color of the selected trace The trace colors selected are saved when the software is closed and restored the next time the software is launched e Update If update is not checked the selected trace remains visible but no longer updates itself for each device sweep e Clear Reset the contents of the selected trace
52. ude in dBm The limit lines are drawn on the graticule and every trace is tested against them Indicator text will appear in the center of the screen denoting whether the trace currently shown passes or fails the limit line test 6 3 1 Loading Multiple Path Loss Tables Currently the software supports a user providing only one path loss table If multiple tables need to be loaded consider using a spreadsheet tool to calculate the summation of these tables into one single table that can be loaded into the software 6 4 AUDIO PLAYER Under the Utilities DAudio Player menu option you can utilize the software to play broadcast audio When using Spike for audio playback the dialog box below will appear 35 E Modes Spectrogram Audio Player LO ies 4 Frequency Configuration 4 Audio Configuration Center Freq 97 1000000 MHz Audio Type FM v Bandwidth 120 0000000 kHz 20 Hz Low Pass 8 0000000 kHz 1 kHz 1 kHz High Pass 20 0000000 Hz 20 Hz Deemphasis 75 000 us OK You can change the center frequency using the arrow keys pressing the fine tune frequency adjustments or through manual entry The initial center frequency is the same center frequency displayed on the graticule when selecting the Audio Player menu option You can also manually change or select various bandwidths and the type of demodulation you wish to perform You may also specify audio low pass and audio high pass filter cutoff frequencies All audio rel
53. um sample for our resulting trace The software performs overlapping FFTs at an overlapping rate of 75 covering each point of data with 4 FFTs We take the resulting FFTs and min max them into a final returned trace The number of FFT results merged depends on the RBW 4 3 ZERO SPAN ANALYSIS Zero span analysis allows you to view and analyzer complex signals in the time domain The application can demodulate AM FM and PM modulation schemes and display the results through multiple plots You can enter zero span mode by using the Analysis Mode drop down file menu or by pressing the zero span button on the Sweep Settings control panel The first time you enter zero span mode the application will appear as below 21 EN of Operation Zero Span Analysis Zero Span L ER Presets Sep Aaen Unites Fee h Toolbar C natera zeen Mare Det pe neo z Ceras ser Ref 0 000 dBm Triggered 9 100000 ms per div 1 a even can A arto Zero Sean gt 20 00 Demod Waveform 40 00 Center 1 000000 GHz 625 pu EAN Spectrum DIS 1048 FFT Size 512 pts Sample Rate 0 625 MS s Zero Span Control Panel 2 VA Waweform Plot ME AAM Man oa ee AA WI YON hl auf T T oa 100 004 EU Center 1 000000 GHz Span 625 000 kHz IF Bandwidth 500 000900 kHz Capture Len 0 001000 s Playback Toolbar C Record Deden Been Creme ao Record Lanois 1000 Smem Bray gt Receso The application window will be split into multiple viewports an
54. vice and use the File gt Connect Device menu option to open the device 3 Getting Started Launching the Spike software brings up the Graphical User Interface GUI This section describes the GUI in detail and how you can use the GUI to control your Signal Hound spectrum analyzer Below is an image of the software on startup If a device is connected when you launch the application the software begins sweeping the full span of the device Getting Started The Graticule E Broadband Spectrum Analyzer 3 We g Lodo jal o gt File Eat Presets Getings Analysis Mose Utiles Help Menu Bar Peces and marters Spectrogram OT C Persistence Gear ange Tng Conteuous Preset Enne Ref 30 000 dBm RBW 300 0000000 kHz LI VBW 300 0000000 kHz ee Trace one Div 10 0 Atten Auto Sweep Toolbar Span ajv mee Clear amp vete Conor aw Color Pa Start Update SW Stop To Front Clear Step 20 0000820 hte Export Clear At Full Span Zero Span markers Jaan 4 tee Ware one Re a 2000 aten Place On Trace One DN 10000 a Update 4 Gan haf Gain acne a den ato Afen Peak Search Delta To Cortar Tore 7000 ens Eee pusou Manwe REW D Rew a NEESS vow a Ral Offset 0 000 en z RAW 90 o A Channa Power man Spaen Control Panel Enatied D f Sp Time 1000 ms 110 00 SI Graticule 130 00 Start 11 0000000 MHz Center 30055000 GHz Stop 6 0000000 GHz Playback Span 5 9890000 GHz Elapsed 235 SweepSiz

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